KENYATAAN MEDIA / MEDIA STATEMENT Rustam A. Sani, Naib Presiden, Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)

[This statement is in Malay and English]

Kementerian Dalam Negeri meluluskan izin penerbitan “Suara PRM”

Melalui sepucuk surat yang diterima semalam, PRM telah diberitahu oleh pihak Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) bahawa permohonan kami untuk memperoleh izin penerbitan bagi akhbar lidah rasmi kami, Suara PRM, kini telah diluluskan.

Kami percaya perkembangan ini merupakan kesan pengumuman kami minggu lalu bahawa PRM akan mengambil tindakan mahkamah terhadap KDN, bukan sahaja kerana gagal meluluskan izin penerbitan itu tetapi juga kerana tidak menjawab surat menyurat kami berhubung dengan permohonan tersebut yang telah dikemukakan sejak 22 Mac 1999.

Manakala kami berterima kasih kerana memperoleh izin penerbitan ini, kami juga ingin menyatakan rasa kesal bahawa izin penerbitan yang sepatutnya merupakan hak asasi kami dalam sebuah sistem demokrasi harus diperjuangkan dengan membuat ancaman untuk mengambil tindakan mahkamah.

Meskipun kami telah memperoleh izin penerbitan ini, namun kami tetap berpendapat bahawa suasana hak menerbitkan dan menyebarkan pendapat di negara ini amatlah menyedihkan. Malah kami berpendapat bahawa kerajaan secara sedar sedang melaksanakan suatu dasar yang bertujuan untuk menyekat dan mencabul lunas-lunas kebebasan. Banyak penerbit bebas telah dibatalkan izin penerbitannya secara sewenang-wenang dan masih ada parti politik yang belum diberikan izin menerbitkan akhbar rasminya meskipun permohonan telah dikemukakan sejak bertahun-tahun.

Memandangkan keadaan ini, maka PRM bercadang untuk meneruskan rancangannya mengadakan suatu persidangan meja bulat di kalangan parti-parti politik, badan-badan NGO, dan para penerbit individu yang telah mengalami banyak halangan dan rintangan oleh dasar kerajaan tersebut. Tujuan pertemuan itu adalah untuk memikirkan strategi yang dapat dilaksanakan bagi mengatasi penindasan hak asasi yang dilakukan oleh KDN. Persidangan ini dicadangkan akan diadakan pada akhir bulan Februari.

Rustam A. Sani Naib Presiden Parti Rakyat Malaysia

16 Februari 2001

TRANSLATION

Interior Ministry has granted publishing permit for “Suara PRM”

Through a letter that was received yesterday, PRM has been informed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (KDN) that our application for a permit to publish the party organ, Suara PRM, has been approved.

We believe that this development is the result of our announcement last week that PRM would be instituting legal action against the KDN, not just for failing to grant the publishing permit but also for not responding to our correspondence concerning the application, which was first submitted on March 22, 1999.

While we are thankful for the publishing permit, we wish nevertheless to reiterate our sense of regret that a permit that should have been our basic constitutional right under a democratic system has to be obtained through threats of taking legal actions against the Ministry.

Although we have now obtained the publishing permit for our own party organ, we are nevertheless still of the opinion that the condition for publishing and dissemination of information in this country is far from being satisfactory. Indeed we feel that the government is consciously pursuing a policy of the suppression of basic rights. Many independent publishers have had their publishing permits revoked and a number of political parties are yet to hear about the fate of their applications for permits to publish their party organs.

Given the situation, PRM has decided to pursue its plan of organising a round table conference of political parties, NGOs, and individual publishers that have suffered suppression and victimization under the government repressive policy on publications. The purpose of the conference is to formulate a strategy to counter the unacceptable policies of the KDN. The conference would be held in late February.

Rustam A. Sani Vice President Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)

16 February 2001

-- Rustam A. Sani 7519 Jalan Bukit Lela, Gombak 53100 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

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